Backfired
by Ravens 23
Summary: Naley - Jealousy is an interesting emotion. Sometimes it can also evoke love. Haley has her heart broken, so she employs the famous tactic of making her ex-boyfriend jealous. But as always, the plan backfires.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note**: So yeah, I've been hit with another plot bunny and a horrible writers block towards "Shattered Pieces". I'm going to try to write two stories at once, see how it goes! This piece is going to be a lot lighter than Shattered Pieces, and a lot funnier (I hope). I don't want to give anything away, but I guarantee after 3 chapters, you will know the basic plot.

**Background Info**  
1. Senior Year  
2. Nathan is a sweetie; not a player  
3. Nathan and Peyton broke up but are really good friends  
4. Peyton is also close to Haley  
5. Lucas and Haley are dating, and are good friends, but not as close as they are in the series  
6. Brooke is not a slut; she doesn't sleep around, but also doesn't have a boyfriend. She is also one of Haley's friends.

**Chapter 1**

"So, if you take the first and multiply it, then the outside, and then the inside and finally the last, you get FOIL and voila, you have just expanded an equation!" Haley James said, writing the steps down in her neat handwriting.

Nathan Scott laughed, "Only you, Haley James, would get excited over a math concept called foil."

Haley giggled, "Okay mister, make fun of it all you want, but you do realize foil is what is going to help you finish up that page of algebra. Let me know when you are done."

It was afternoons like this that made Haley smile at the simplicity of life. She loved tutoring, but a tutoring experience was five hundred times better if the other person was cooperative.

Haley had her doubts the first day Nathan Scott walked in. After all, who didn't know the sordid history of the Scott brothers? It also didn't make it better that Haley's boyfriend just happened to be Lucas. Yet, it wasn't in Haley's nature to just not be able to help a person in need.

Frankly, Nathan was closer to being perfect than Lucas. Nathan was the star basketball player and according to the rumor mill, Duke was wooing him with a scholarship. He was sweet, courteous, student council president and did pretty well in school. Except for math, but when playing basketball, who needed math? All the guys wanted to be like him and be seen with him, and all the girls wanted to be with him. But as far as everyone knew, his love life consisted of only two girlfriends; Jasmine Tumnion in sixth grade and Peyton Sawyer, who he had just broken up with after 2 years of dating. Haley knew all about that too; Peyton and Nathan were very good friends, and their spark just ran out.

Haley also knew that Nathan had his moments too, especially when it came to his older half-brother. Nathan had always kept the jibes about Lucas on the down low around Haley but she knew that he and the rest of the team hazed Lucas, when he first joined the team. It wasn't so bad now, a year later, but pranks were still pulled and usually under Nathan's watch.

A quiet series of _dings_ echoed through the room. Haley rummaged around her bag for her phone while Nathan looked up from his worksheet, and smirked.

"Tell dear boyfriend not to kill you with those lovey-dovey text messages." Nathan said, before diverting his concentration

Haley smiled. Without fail, Lucas would always text her during the sessions. If Haley wasn't teaching, she usually answered them back. Although lately, he seemed to be a little antsy. She flipped open her phone and read the message:

_Hey love_  
_Hope u r dealin ok w/him  
__Sry but can't meet at 7  
__Have to work  
__Ttyl 3 you_

Haley sighed, putting her phone in her bag. Lately, he was working more and more at Karen's Café. It was probably due to Haley because she had been cutting back on hours. She was tutoring every day after-school not to mention, she was dealing with college applications.

"All done!" Nathan exclaimed, throwing his pencil down and stretching his arms. He gave Haley the paper and expectantly waited for her to point out his mistakes.

As Haley went through the paper, she felt her self start to smile. "Great job! You are starting to get the hang of this, excellent!"

Nathan grinned, "Thanks to a wonderful tutor."

Haley smiled, "Well, you are off the hook for the today, see you next Tuesday?"

"Actually," Nathan said, putting his books away, "Can we meet up tomorrow, like around 5 after basketball practice? We have a killer test on Thursday, and I just wanted to review everything again."

Haley mentally went through her day, "Sure, how about 6:30 at the docks?"

Nathan nodded, "Sounds good, see you then Hales!"

"Bye!" She waved as she watched him leave. Haley really considered Nathan to be a good friend of hers. She checked her watch and packed up her books to go to her next tutoring assignment.

ooo

It was close to 7 by the time Haley got done with her private tutoring session. She had started to pick up some extra money by offering her services outside of school hours and surprising she had many clients.

As Haley walked pass Karen's Café, she had the urge to go in and see Lucas. She walked through the door, spying Karen cleaning the counter.

"Haley!" Karen squealed, coming around the counter to give Haley a hug. "I haven't seen you for ages darling, how are you doing?"

"Swamped with applications and everything." Haley said, blowing out a big breath, "Sometimes I wonder if it's all the pain of going to college."

Karen laughed, "Off course it is, you need to get out of this tiny place!"

Haley giggled, that was definitely true. "Where is Lucas?"

Karen sighed, "He is at home studying. I ask him to help around because lately business has been picking up, but he always claims that he has basketball or homework."

Haley tensed; that is not what Lucas had been telling her. She started to get a funny feeling in her stomach.

"He probably just doesn't want to be seen hanging around here wearing an apron." Karen rambled on, oblivious to Haley's paled face.

"Oh okay, I will just catch him later, bye Karen!" Haley said, before fleeing the restaurant, suddenly feeling claustrophobic.

Karen looked puzzled as she watched her son's girlfriend run out. Oh well, the brainy ones are the first to lose it.

ooo

Haley nearly sprinted to Lucas' house. She ran around to the back, noticing only the kitchen light on. She forced herself to breathe normally, and tried to fix her disheveled appearance. She slowly walked up the stairs and opened the back door.

No one was in the kitchen, but she could see another light on down the hallway, from Lucas' room. She slowly walked down the hallway, hearing a giggle and voices murmuring.

Stopping in front of his door, Haley put her hand against it, ready to push it open. She took a deep breath and slowly pushed it open.

The sight in front of her knocked the wind out of her. The two occupants in the room just happened to be Lucas and Brooke Davis, another friend of hers. Kissing. Quite passionately. Obviously, not their first time.

Haley gasped, trying to get some oxygen flowing. Her gasping caused Lucas and Brooke to fall apart, turning to the noise. Brooke immediately paled and froze while Lucas tensed and had the guilty look on his face.

Time seemed to last forever. Finally, Haley said the first thing that came to her mind.

"What. The. Hell."

ooo

Hope you guys liked it! Please give me some feedbacks, ideas, whatnot.

- Tina


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: As usual, do not own anything, although I would love a Ravens jersey

**Rating**: PG-13 for potty-mouth-iness (aka swearing)

* * *

**Chapter 2 **

Haley had always been verbose, after all, she had gotten a 790 on her verbal part on the SATs (Okay, so she filled in the wrong bubble for one of the answers, slight mistake). But this was probably the first experience that had rendered her speechless.

To any observer, they would have commented on how the three of them looked strangely like fish. Well, not Brooke Davis, she would have looked like a mermaid. She never would ever look like a fihs. ButHaley and Lucas definitely had the fish look.

In slow motion, Lucas opened his mouth, to apologize, to offer an explanation, to ask her about the weather, anything to break the silence in the room.

But it was not necessary.Haley didn't want to hear it. So, she spun around on her heals, and sprinted out of the house.

Hailey lay in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She glanced at her digital clock, which said that it was 2:30. She decided that one day, when she was rich and famous, she would make a clock that didn't have red numbers. The red numbers seemed to be mocking her lack of sleep.

She rolled over, onto her side, curling up in a fetal position. This shouldn't be happening to her. Brooke was her friend, a close friend, possibly even best. Well, not anymore. Brooke just shot down any of those titles. But Lucas, her boyfriend and her friend. She had been apprehensive about going out with him in the first place, because she knew that when they would break up, it would cause uneasiness and she actually enjoyed his company.

Lucas told her that he would never do anything to hurt her and that their friendship would remain intact because they would be together forever. He cared about her more than life itself, blah blah blah.

Amazing how the word forever can have different meanings to the different sexes. Haley didn't know who was more disillusioned, she for thinking that it was true, or Lucas, forever coming up with the idea.

In reality, Haley was more hurt than anything. Two people who were very important to her, betraying her in the worst way. Infidelity was something that she hated with a passion. It ruined marriages, lives, relationships, morals, everything. She knew that the compatibility between her and Lucas was tender but she didn't think their relationship would end in this manner. She knew that she no longer liked him in the romantic way, but it still hurt.

Haley switched sides, looking out her window. Should she just ignore them? Get revenge? Try to fix the relationships? She was tired of caring, tired of being used and tired of everything.

oooooooooo

"Haley! You are going to be late!" Lydia James yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

Haley moaned, and stumbled out of bed. When she finally decided to fall asleep, she had to wake up. This day was going to suck.

She quickly brushed her teeth and pulled her hair back into a high ponytail and was currently standing in front of her closet.

_'Hmmm'_she thought, _'Sporty _or_ Slutty'_ as she surveyed her clothes. Then she remembered, she didn't have any slutty clothes. So she chose the next best thing, the outfit that Lucas always commented her on, a pair of tight flared jeans and a red sweater that was considerably tight too. She didn't need the world to see how heartbroken she was.

She quickly put on her outfit and ran outside, getting ready to hop into her car. Too bad, there was a truck blocking her driveway. Too bad that truck belonged to Lucas. Too bad he was giving her those guilty looks. _Great._

Haley groaned as she walked towards the truck. She might as well talk to him and get it over with. After all, many issues, if left alone, somehow turns into a mess of big lies and imagination.

Haley got into the truck and slammed the door shut, indicating her current state of mind. She put her book bag on the floor, and crossed her arms over her chest. Lucas glanced at her before pulling out of the driveway.

It was clear to both of them that Haley was not going to be the first person to start speaking. So either Lucas brought up the subject or he just kept driving. So, he did both.

"Haley, I'm sorry…"

Haley tensed. Sorry? Is that all he had to say? Haley had always hated the word sorry. It never justified anything. That was NOT his apology and she was going to make sure of that.

"Sorry for what? Hurting me? Kissing Brooke? Ruining our relationship? Ruining the relationship I had with Brooke? Making yourself look like an ass? Do tell me, because sorry does not cover any of those." Haley spat out, trying to keep her temper in control.

Lucas took a deep breath. He knew he hurt Haley, but he was confused too. Haley was a great girl, but Brooke? Brooke was everything Haley was, but a notch higher. At least, that's what he thought.

"Haley, none of those were my intentions. It's just, well, you have been so busy lately and I was getting lonely. You have to admit, our relationship was kinda fizzling out and well, Brooke was there and one thing led to another."

"Back up, no freaking way are you pining your infidelity on me. I was busy?! SO WHAT?! It's not like we don't see each other everyday. If our relationship was fizzling, why didn't you end it? And then you could have been with Brooke without any guilt. Or did this turn you on? Hiding your mistress away from your girlfriend. Tell me, have you knocked her up yet?" Haley was at the breaking point, she could feel the tears coming to her eyes. Last night, the pain didn't come because it was all so surreal, but today, after it had settled in, everything was magnified one hundred times.

Lucas was getting angry now. Why couldn't she just let it go? Haley, who he had been a friend with from 2nd grade, was a great girl, and she knew that he screwed up many times. So why couldn't she just chalk it up this time again?

"Hales…"

"Don't call me that. Only my friends call me that."

Lucas sighed, "Haley, it's not like we were married or anything. It's just high school dating."

That did it. Haley's temper just overflowed like a volcano spewing lava. And just like a volcano, she wasn't going to stop. How had she not seen what an asshole he could be?

"It's a damn shame we weren't married because at this point, I would have milked you to your debt with my alimony. What the hell, does this mean that high school relationships have no meaning? You know, many people have had relationships in high school and have gotten married. But this is not what it is about. It's about you betraying your trust to me and also screwing me over, metaphorically speaking. There are so many guys in our school, how many of them have done what you have done? I'm guessing not a whole lot. You need to get your head out of your ass, don't think you are a stud because you aren't. I can't believe I didn't realized what an asshole you are. It would have saved me of having to sit here with you." Haley ranted, ready to punch Lucas.

Lucas was getting a little angry now. "What about you and your _dear_ Nathan? I'm sure it doesn't take an hour to tutor someone. You sure you didn't mix business with pleasure?"

Haley curled her hands into a ball. If he wasn't driving, she would have sent him flying out that window. "Excuse me, not all of us think with our sexual organ. Nathan is a great guy and would never do that. Unlike you."

"That's it. Nathan, Nathan. He spends more time with you than I do. Ever think about that?" Lucas complained, pulling into the school parking lot.

"No." Haley's voice was quiet. Lucas looked over at her. "Don't you dare start. Jealous? You should be of Nathan. He is great. But that is not the point here. He has nothing to do with the current problem, so don't drag him in here."

For the second time that morning, the car was completely quiet. Haley was trying to hold back her tears, while Lucas was trying to salvage some of his dignity. Before he could say anything, Haley sighed and unbuckled herself. She picked up her backpack and got out of the car.

"You are turning into Dan. Be careful." And with that, she walked towards the school.

Out of all the things that had been said in the car that morning, those parting words hurt Lucas the most.

oooooooooo

Haley sighed, and looked at her watch again. She was not a happy camper. She wanted to eat lunch and eat it now. Who scheduled National Honor Society meetings over lunch anyway?

But part of her was happy as well. Because eating lunch meant having to sit at the table with Lucas and Brooke. It was unfortunate that her lunch period had the entire gang in it, including Peyton, Nathan, Tim, and a few other jocks and cheerleaders the rest of the group associated with.

The news of Lucas' and Haley breaking up had surprisingly been kept on the down low. Because, if the news came out, then Lucas would have to admit he was a jerk. Oh well, not like something like this would be hidden forever, especially in Tree Hill.

Haley looked at her watch again. Great, 5 minutes left in lunch. She really wanted to talk to Peyton. The cheerleaders and basketball players had a meeting during her Physics class, so she didn't have a chance to talk to Peyton yet.

_Blah Blah Blah _Marissa, the presidents voice, seemed to fade into the background. She felt like she was in a Charlie Brown cartoon listening to the teacher. Finally, the bell rang and Haley practically ran out of the room. Maybe she could zip by the vending machines and get something to eat before class started.

"HALEY!"

Haley paused and turned around. Bounding towards her was the person she was looking for.

"Peyt, hey!" Haley said, truly happy to see her friend. She was even happier when Peyton handed her a burger wrapped in foil.

"I knew you wouldn't get a chance to eat, and then you would be cranky." Peyton said, falling in step with Haley as she devoured the food.

"'Phanks" Haley said, busy stuffing her face.

"So…yeah…I heard about you and Lucas. I'm sorry. That was the jerkiest thing to ever do to anyone." Peyton said softly, putting her arm around Haley's shoulder.

Haley swallowed, "Who told you?" She asked, slightly afraid of the answer.

"Brooke. She feels pretty rotten. And she should. It was a horrible thing to do to a friend." Peyton said squeezing her shoulder. "I gotta get to class. Talk to you later!"

Haley whispered, "Bye" Her pain just returned again, hearing the sympathy of her friend. She needed to move on. And fast.

oooooooooo

It was 6:15 when Nathan pulled up by the docks. He loved coming down there, it was always so peaceful. He noticed that Haley's car was there. 'Well' he thought, 'That's odd, I thought she had a research paper to write.'

As he walked to their table, he noticed that Haley was just sitting there. Her books were all stacked on the table, unopened. Her bag lay at her feet, closed. She was just staring out into the water. It was strange for Nathan to see Haley so stoic and unmoving. She was always working on something, always fidgeting and Nathan made fun of her for that.

He dropped his bag on the ground and sat across from her. "Hey, what's up?" He asked, taking his books out.

Haley looked at him, giving him a half-smile. "Lucas and I broke up."

Nathan froze, uh-oh, what did he say? He didn't like Lucas, common fact. But Haley did like him, or at least liked him. So, he gave the most generic answer ever. "I'm sorry."

Haley gave him a broken smile. "I'm not. He was cheating on me with Brooke."

Nathan felt a white-hot surge of anger go through him. Why would anyone want to hurt Haley? She was a naïve sweet girl, but obviously Lucas felt that she was too naïve to know about him and Brooke.

"Oh Haley," Nathan said, moving to sit next to her. "I'm sorry, that is terrible."

She gave a half sob and the next thing he knew, she flung herself at him. He hugged her back, knowing that she just needed a shoulder to cry on. As Haley sobbed, he though back to when his own mother had an affair. He would call her every night, begging her to come home, but she would say that she was busy. Off course, back then, he didn't know that she was having an affair.

As he heard Haley sniffle, he pulled back and wipe her tears. "Hales, you are a great girl, and Lucas definitely doesn't deserve you."

Haley gave a wobbly smile, "I know, but that doesn't make it any better. He is one of my oldest friends. It just hurts that he could betray me in the worst way."

Nathan nodded, "But you have to move on."

"Yeah."

A comfortable silence filled in the void between the two as they looked out to the water. It was a calm night, and the water would ripple only when something disturbed it. Haley knew she had to move on. More importantly, she had to show Lucas that she had moved on. That if he regarded their friendship so nonchalantly, she could do the same. She wanted to hurt him, the same way he hurt her. Suddenly, a light bulb clicked. It was a stupid, ridiculous and blantantly girly idea. All the same, it was a pretty good idea.

"Nathan?"

"Hmm?"

"How would you like to be my boyfriend?"

oooooooooo

**A/N – **Thank you guys for your reviews! It is always encouraging :D I don't want you guys to think this is ging to be predictable, because trust me, its going to have quite a few twist and turns.

HalesnLuke4ever – Well, it is kinda Brucas I guess, but in all honesty, there isn't going to be much written about them.

KristenCathie – I agree about Lucas' possessivness! I usually ship bestfriends, just because I love the idea of best friends falling in love ;) But in OTH, for some reason, it just doesn't click for me.

TuttJessica – Hehe, I usually end with a cliffhanger, just letting you know!

KKHliboki – Borderline great? Wow, thanks! Trust me, I have an entire outline for this story and that is really helpful because I know where I am going with it.

Dark-moon-Angel (Mia) – Thank you about the comment about my writing :D My style of writing, in my opnion, is pretty odd and sarcastic but it's nice to know that people like it!

Once again, thank you very much for the replies and I hope you all had a great Christmas, and Happy Holidays!

3, Tina


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer **- As usual, do not own anything, although I would love a Ravens jersey (with Nathan Scott in it please ;D)

**Rating**: - PG-13 for potty-mouth-iness (aka swearing)

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Nathan laughed. He couldn't help it. Haley watched him in confusion, and slight irritation, as he continued to sputter.

"I'm sorry!" Nathan said, "I thought you asked ime/I to be your boyfriend." He trailed off when he noticed Haley looking at him angrily.

"What is so funny about being my boyfriend?" Haley asked sadly, "Well, obviously something because Lucas didn't want to be mine."

Nathan felt like the lowest guy on the planet right then. Ouch, yeah, he wasn't good with this sensitivity thing, but he definitely had to watch where he spewed his mouth off, around a broken up girl at least.

"No way Haley! But…" Nathan faltered, trying to figure out how to say that he and Haley didn't like each other in Ithat/I way.

"I need Lucas to know that I'm not going to be all broken up over him. I want to show him that if he doesn't need me, I don't need him either. I want him to be jealous." Haley persuaded Nathan.

"But why me? Why not…Ben?" Nathan grappled for names, recalling one of Haley's friends.

"I highly doubt that president of the math club will cause Lucas to kneel over in jealousy. Plus, he will be uber jealous of you." Haley said, putting her hand on Nathan's arm. She hoped that he would agree very soon otherwise she would have to resort batting her eyelashes at him.

Nathan sighed. He was in a compromising position. On one hand, he knew that pretending to be Haley's boyfriend would kill Lucas. But, nothing good ever came out of situations like this. Nathan cherished his and Haley's relationship. He truly enjoyed spending time with her.

"Fine." Nathan agreed, "How hard is it going to be?"

Haley squealed, throwing her arms around Nathan.

Really, how hard was it going to be?

oooooooooo

After finishing their tutor session, Nathan suggested that they go out for ice cream. They went to this quaint shop called 'The Ice Cream Shoppe' (creative name, I know). It was usually quiet and a nice place to relax. The person to take their order was none other than Peyton.

"Welcome to the Ice Cream Shoppe, home of the best old-fashioned style … " Peyton started out in a bored tone but then noticed who she was serving. "Hey guys! What's up?"

"Nothing really, just got done reviewing, and Haley decided to treat me to ice cream!" Nathan smirked, looking at all the flavors.

"I did not!" Haley shrieked indignantly, "Mister here just is hungry, as usual."

Peyton laughed, happy to see her friends. It really did boring working here sometimes. But the pay was good, so that's all that counted. "Well, why don't you guys order, and just hang around for about 10 more minutes. I get off on break then."

Nathan and Haley agreed and ordered their ice cream. Nathan got a double banana split (Haley didn't even know those existed) and she just got an ice cream soda.

"Okay, now, we need some kind of organized plan. It can't look sloppy. It can't look fake." Nathan began, as he sat down. He had gotten into his basketball strategy mode, which surprised and amused Haley.

"Okay, let's see, how about just in school, you know, lovey dovey? But not overly, like just subtle PDA, holding hands and stuff like that." Haley suggested. She knew that they were playing with their reputations.

"Okay," Nathan agreed, "And every once in awhile, we can make an appearance to a party or something."

Haley frowned, "A party?" Nathan nodded, devouring his sundae. "Okay….I guess."

"Don't worry, I will be there to protect you." Nathan smirked, knowing exactly what was running through Haley's mind.

Haley stuck out her tongue at him and he chuckled, "How about I pick you up tomorrow morning? We can start our appearance as the star couple."

"Okay," Haley agreed, "And one more thing. Keep your PDA with other girls down low. You are supposed to be with me."

Nathan frowned, "You know I'm a one girl guy. I wouldn't think of cheating on anyone, even if I am just pretending to date them."

Haley felt slightly guilty. He knew the effects of cheating on someone, from his mom. He was doing a huge favor for her, risking his reputation as well.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking when I said that." Haley apologized, feeling really badly.

Nathan nodded, "Can we tell anyone else about this Iliaison/I" He grinned.

Haley giggled, "Whooo big word! Um…Well, if we told too many people, then there is a bigger chance of the secret being spilled."

"Can we tell Peyt at least? We do need someone else on our side." Nathan said, finishing off his sundae.

"Yeah," Haley agreed, "We can tell Peyton because you are right, and plus she can also help us."

"Tell Peyton what?" Peyton asked, plopping down across from Haley and Nathan. She looked at them expectantly.

Nathan looked at Haley, "It was your idea…" he said in a sing songy voice.

Haley sighed, and in 5 minutes, summarized the entire plan. While listening Peyton alternated from holding in her laughter to amusement.

When Haley was done, Peyton burst out into laughter. Nathan joined in and Haley crossed her arms and sat petulantly.

"Lucas is going to DIE when he sees you with Nathan." Peyton said, pounding the table.

"So, you don't think it's a bad idea?" Haley asked, needing the reassurance.

"Naah, have fun with it! And trust me, take up on all the benefits." Peyton giggled, elbowing Nathan. Nathan just smirked and looked down at his watch.

"Okay, I gotta go, you girls have fun. Bye Peyton, Bye my darling Haley" Nathan said, swooping down to kiss her on the cheek, "I will pick you up tomorrow morning."

"Bye Nathan!" The two girls said laughing.

As soon as he left, Peyton swiveled back around to Haley.

"You do realize that this is a dangerous move? Nothing good ever came out from pretending to be in love. Sometimes the line gets blurry." Peyton said, concerned for both of her friends.

Haley crumpled up her napkin and then straightened it out. "Yeah Pey, I know that, but…I'm just tired of being the one that gets sympathy looks. For once, I want people to look at Lucas and be like 'Oh, what a fool. He let that one get away'. Just for once."

Peyton scooted over next to Haley and gave her a hug. "That is totally understandable. Lucas and Brooke did hurt you. But just be careful, because Nathan isn't as strong as he projects himself to be. And he cares about you. Just don't do anything that will hurt both of you. Like falling for him."

Haley sighed shakily, "I know, not that he would ever look at me in that way." Peyton opened her mouth but before she could say anything Haley asked her. "Tell me a little bit about when you dated Nathan, you know some tips?" She winked at Peyton, telling her that she was okay.

Peyton leaned back, "Well, regardless of all the drama that 'seemed' to surround us, we had a good relationship. It was the perfect first love relationship. He was good to me, he cared about me, despite what other people like to say."

Haley nodded, she had heard interesting things about Nathan and Peyton's relationship. Rumors of them cheating on each other, their relationship based on sex, the constant drama, the emotional abuse, etcetera.

"There were times when we would say things to each other that hurt but it was our defense mechanism. We were so similar it was scary. His mother barely in his life, my mother had left mine. My father was estranged, but loved him, his dad pressured him to no end. But it wasn't as if I received emotional abuse from him. He wouldn't ever do that. He wants to be the exact opposite of his father." Peyton said, looking very faraway.

Haley sat quietly and listened. It didn't sound like the Nathan that she knew. Granted, the only time they hung out was when she was tutoring him but he hid these emotions very well.

Peyton pulled herself into reality. "We were better suited as friends. He and I rely on each other for a lot of things. But I still want you to be careful. He has the ability to lash out and hurt people close to him. You guys are going to be hanging out more, and if he ever seems to close off, just back off. Try to be flippant."

Haley nodded, absorbing everything Peyton was saying. Sure she sat with these people at lunch and she and Peyton were good friends, but she never knew how close Nathan and Peyton were. It almost reminded her of Lucas and herself the pre-dating days.

"If he ever even tries to apologized, let him. It's hard enough for him." Peyton chuckled, "In our entire relationship, he has apologized to me properly I think twice. Even though he has been a jerk more than that!"

Haley giggled, she knew that Nathan was slightly arrogant, but it was his nature. She really appreciated everything that Peyton was telling her. Obviously, Nathan wasn't as much of a jerk as rumored if his ex-girlfriend could talk about him in that way.

"Well Peyt, thank you very very much for the advice, I have to run home now, study for tomorrows physics test." Haley said, packing up.

"Damn, that's right, we have that. Oh well, okay, I better get back. I forgot I was working!" Peyton giggled. She hugged Haley one more time and bounded off.

Haley sighed. As she walked to herself, she partially thought 'My big mouth'

oooooooooo

"Haley! You are going to be late!" Lydia yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

It was déjà vu at the James household again. But the only difference was that Haley was already up, dressed, showered, and currently staring at herself in the mirror. She needed to look perfect, because she knew that all eyes would be on her today. If people didn't know before, they would now know that Lucas and Haley were no longer together. Lucas was with Brooke, captain of the cheer leading squad and Haley was with Nathan, the captain of the basketball team and also the god of Tree Hill basketball.

Haley picked up her back and looked at herself in the mirror again. She was wearing a knee length jean skirt, a casual two-layered off-shoulder shirt and flip-flops. She had spent close to an hour on just curling her hair so that it looked perfect. And she was happy to know that it did look perfect. She needed to look perfect.

**HONK**

Nathan was here. The butterflies hit Haley's stomach full force, as she grabbed her backpack and descended down the stairs. She stopped in front of her door and took a deep breath. She opened the door and stood there in shock.

Nathan was leaning against his Escalade, glaring. At Lucas. Who was also standing by his truck looking very lost.

This had not occurred to Haley. The possibility of Lucas showing up to pick Haley up. She had figured after their conversation yesterday that he didn't want a repeat, but neither did Haley.

Nathan was the first to notice her. He smiled widely, as Haley walked down the path toward his car. As soon as she got close enough, he looped his arm around her waist and then gave her a soft kiss on her cheek. Then, he faced Lucas again, smirking.

"Lucas…" Haley said, her voice hoarse. She cleared her throat, "What are you doing here?"

"Well…I came to pick you up. Like I have been ever since we started high school." Lucas said, in a confused voice. He was desperately trying not to assume what seemed to be the obvious.

"You mean back when you weren't a lying bastard." Nathan smirked, clearly aware of the implications of his comment.

Lucas paled slightly and Haley elbowed Nathan. Seeing him confused and hurt was hurting her. 'STOP IT HALEY' she mentally told herself. 'You are the one that has been hurt.'

"Well Lucas," Haley started out, not sure where she was going with this, "Nathan is going to be giving me rides to school from now on." She gave him a smile as Nathan pushed her towards the passenger side. After he helped her get in, he turned around and smirked at Lucas.

"See you later loser."

oooooooooo

"You enjoyed that a bit too much."

"Yeah, I did."

"I honestly hadn't thought of that scenario. Thought of everything else but that!" Haley vented, blowing a piece of hair out of her face. Nathan laughed and just took her hand. Haley looked at him oddly but didn't comment.

"Listen. That is the first of many sneak attacks. The main thing is just to pretend. Keep up all the pretenses at all times." Nathan said, expertly maneuvering through the student parking lot.

As he pulled into a parking spot, the butterflies returned full force. Well, not it was like butterflies and flying squirrels. Nathan looked over to see a nauseated looking Haley.

"Hales? Haley c'mon!" Nathan said, trying to reassure her. "Think of it as a big senior prank. After all, the school's gossip mill needs to be shaken up!"

Haley nodded, although she still didn't look convinced. Nathan got out of the car and helped her out. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Nathan swooped her back in a big hug, causing her to squeal.

"Ready to go?" Nathan asked, giving her his confident smirk.

"Ready as ever!"

The instant they walked into the school building, this gradual hush fell, as people noticed them holding hands. Nathan just rolled his eyes and scowled at everyone.

They had barely taken two steps when they heard a loud voice squeal, "NATE-MEISTER!"

"Nate-meister?" Haley mouthed, smirking.

Nathan rolled his eyes and focused his attention from the voice up ahead. Tim was grinning until he noticed Haley and Nathan's fingers intertwined. "Dude…"

Nathan rolled his eyes again, already fed up with everyone. Haley was too busy avoiding Brooke's stare, as she passed Brooke and Peyton. Peyton was giving her an encouraging smile.

It seemed like an hour before everyone started talking again in the halls (in reality it was 1.6 seconds). Nathan and Haley stopped in front of her locker as Haley hit her head against it. Nathan grabbed her before she could hit it again and pulled her into another hug. Haley was starting to enjoy these hugs.

"Now that wasn't so bad!" Nathan laughed, seeing Haley give him an evil look.

Just then, Peyton and Jake sauntered up to their lockers. Jake and Nathan did a little macho handshake thing as Haley and Peyton rolled their eyes. Jake and Peyton were at the pre-dating stage. She was trying to get him to at least ask her out.

"How is the pseudo-couple going?" Peyton winked, "Oh, I hope you don't mind, I let Jake in on the secret. No one else."

Haley gave a half smile, "No, that's okay." She trusted Jake. "I didn't realize how much Tree Hill enjoyed to gossip. That's all."

"Don't worry about it, Tree Hill has never seen that Hershey commercial, you know, 'Change is Good'?" Jake commented.

Nathan stared at him blankly. Haley gave him a quirky eyebrow look. Peyton just patted him on the shoulder. "Sorry hon. Nice try."

Nathan and Haley quickly nodded their heads as Peyton turned her attention back onto them. "Dude, the second you guys stepped in, it was like as if Princess Di and Charles stepped into THS!"

Haley grinned, imagining herself as Princess Diana. Meanwhile Nathan scowled at the allusion of being compared to Charles.

"Peyt, at least pick a couple who looks good." Nathan said, hugging Haley closer.

Peyton rolled her eyes (a habit she was picking up from Nathan very quickly), "Fine then. Why don't you think of a better couple, Nathan"

Nathan thought for a few seconds.

"How about Dave Navarro and Carmen Electra?"

* * *

**Authors Note**– First of all, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I hope everyone is doing well. Thank you so much for the wonderful replies. I'm glad to see people enjoying the story. This is longer than I anticipated. I wanted to add another scene but that ended up being cut. Hope you guys enjoyed it too!

3, Tina


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Still applies! I own zilch.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Haley shoved her books into her locker. She took a deep breath and just stared at the mini mirror she kept in her locker. She was thankful that they had a test in Physics. With some force of fate, Lucas, Brooke and Nathan were in her Physics class. Along with Peyton and Jake. Even better, she sat in between Lucas and Nathan. Lucas insisted on shooting her confused looks while she was taking her test. Somehow, she managed to keep her concentration during the test.

"Ready to go to lunch?" Nathan asked, coming up behind her.

Haley sighed. Hurdle #2. Lunchtime with everyone. Watching Lucas and Brooke cuddle was the last thing she needed. But she was also very hungry, "Sure, let's go."

oooooooo

'_Well…this is awkward.'_ Peyton mused. She never questioned why her school had round tables for lunch. She liked them because she could always see her friends from whatever angle.

Now, the six of them stood around the table trying to figure out how to sit. If they sat in couples, Brooke, Lucas, Nathan and Haley would have to sit next to at least one person they didn't want to.

It was an immediate dilemma that clicked in everyone's head. Almost simultaneously, Haley and Nathan sat down next to each other, and on the other side of the table, Brooke and Lucas sat down. There were only two seats left, one in between Lucas and Nathan and one in between Haley and Brooke.

Peyton let out a big sigh as she looked at Jake. He just gave her a smile as he sat down.

And so, lunch began.

oooooooo

The 30 minutes that they had for lunch always seemed to be short. But, for some reason, today it seemed to stretch on forever. Nathan had his arm around the back of Haley's chair, and was conversing with Jake about basketball. Haley was trying to talk to Peyton, but was sorely distracted by the sight of Brooke and Lucas wrapped around each other.

"So, I told Mrs. Layman to send in my artwork, because I knew it wasn't going to win…" Peyton trailed off, when she realized that Haley was watching Brooke giggle at something Lucas said.

Peyton cleared her throat. "But I did win. And the prize is that I get to sleep with Jack Black for one night. How does it sound?"

"Awesome." Haley faintly agreed, watching Lucas feed Brooke a carrot. God, was she suddenly incapable of eating by herself?

"Yeah, I don't know if he is a handcuff type of guy or he likes to play around with whipped cream. What do you think?"

"Whipped cream." Haley said absentmindedly. Then she stopped and stared at Peyton. "WHAT?!"

Nathan and Jake stopped their conversation to look at Haley, who was looking shell-shocked. Even Brooke and Lucas stopped their cooing and looked at Haley. Peyton burst out into giggles.

"You weren't listening to me!" Peyton said. She turned to Nathan and Jake, "I was telling her about my art…"

She noticed that they weren't paying attention to her either, but staring in the direction of Brooke and Lucas. 'What the hell, why are they the object of fascination today?' Peyton irritably thought. But the second she saw them, she understood why.

The round tables were pretty big for 6 people but all of the sudden, it seemed a bit small, with Brooke practically straddling Lucas' lap and kissing him with fervor that Lucas was reciprocating very well.

Haley's hand shook as she reached for a napkin to wipe her mouth with. I'I can't handle this. Not now. Not today.'/I She thought as she suddenly stood up, her chair scraping back.

"I…um.. need to go." Haley stammered out, avoiding Jake and Peyton's sympathy eyes as well as Nathan's concerned ones. She turned on her heels and forced herself to walk calmly out.

Nathan hit the table with his fist causing Brooke and Lucas to fall apart. Brooke wiped her mouth as she noticed the disgusted looks Peyton and Jake were giving her and Lucas. She also noticed the empty seat.

"It's bad enough for the rest of us, who at this moment don't give a damn about you. But stop hurting Haley even more. You have done enough." Nathan said, his eyes flashing and voice low.

Brooke stealthy picked up her bag and left the table.

"Obviously, she isn't hurting anymore, now that her big knight in shining armor is by her side." Lucas said, starting to get angry at being interrupted during a perfectly wonderful make-out session. "Why don't you go make out with her She won't feel lonely. After all, didn't you going to her for tutoring so that you could get in her pants?"

Nathan stood up, ready to pounce on Lucas, who stood up as well, determined not to be intimidated. Jake stood up as well, to prevent Nathan from doing anything stupid. Peyton just sat there, shaking her head. According to boys, violence was the way to go. Way to be all macho.

Nathan gave Lucas a dirty look before grabbing his stuff. "I'm outta here." He gave Jake a nod and clapped Peyton on the back before stalking out of the cafeteria."

oooooooo

"Haley! Stop!"

Haley continued walking. She pushed herself through the crowd and headed for the girls bathroom.

"Haley. Stop. Please!" The voice behind her pleaded.

She pushed open the bathroom door, letting it thump back, but it didn't because a hand reached out and stopped it.

Haley twirled around, "Brooke. I have nothing to say to you. So please, stop trying to buddy up to me because it's a wasted effort."

Brooke checked under each stall making sure it was empty. Satisfied that it was, Brooke locked the bathroom door.

"No. I want to talk to you." Brooke said firmly, standing in front of the door.

Haley started to wash her hands. It was a habit that she did whenever she was nervous. "Talk. Will I respond? Not likely."

Brooke sighed. She deserved that. "Listen, first, I want to say that I'm sorry…"

Haley whirled around, pointing her finger at Brooke. "Don't. Don't say you are because you aren't. It wasn't a freak of nature, it wasn't something that had to happen. You did it at your own free will."

"Listen, it goes deeper than just that." Brooke sighed, leaning against the radiator. "It started a long time ago, last year to be précised, when Lucas first joined the team."

Haley blinked. She didn't expect to get a story out of this. But she was curious now. Lucas, when he first joined the team, was always stressed about the hazing and just fitting in. So they never talked about anything to do with the team.

"He and I had a short fling. It would have progressed into something more, but the thing is that he seemed afraid. He didn't like many of the basketball players on the team. Mainly because when the cheerleaders and basketball players would share a bus, cheerleaders and basketball players would make-out. And he didn't like the idea that a relationship had to be physical all of the time. He didn't want to be one of those guys." Brooke sighed, "So, he started dating you. Because you were pure and innocent and Lucas wanted that."

Haley stiffened. She was sick of being stereotyped at innocent. She knew everything about the big bad world. Just because she didn't participate in didn't mean that she was worldly. She also wanted to ask if Nathan was one of the guys that would make out with a cheerleader. Then she realized that he was with Peyton at that time and she knew her answer.

"But I had already fallen for him. I know I seem boy crazy at times, but with Lucas, it just felt as if he wanted to look past my looks and see what I was made of. It was nice because I didn't have to keep the airhead act up around him." Brooke gave Haley a small smile. "Being an airhead is tiring."

Haley gave a half-smile. She knew Brooke was an intelligent, sensitive girl, which is why her actions had confused Haley.

"I guess, during our fling, I had done something right, because I knew that Lucas cared about me, just like I cared for him. But he also cared for you, which is understandable because one, you are awesome and two, he has known you forever. But you know, things that are forbidden, seems more attractive? That was what we had. And I promise you Haley, while you guys were dating, we did nothing more than kiss." Brooke said, trying to get Haley to open up a little bit.

Haley gave a sarcastic chuckle, "Oh yes, that is supposed to make it tons better. Brooke, You know, in the last year, I have gotten to know you better, because of Lucas. He would praise you many times, and I thought, yeah I need to get to know her. But I didn't think that you could have done something like this to your friend."

"But you knew I liked him!" Brooke exclaimed, "You hurt me just as much too. You didn't know about the fling, but you knew that I liked him. But you still went out with him, even though I know you don't love him the way you love Nathan or the way I love Lucas."

Haley paled slightly. Love? Nathan? Uh-oh. Okay, deal with that later. "You're right. I knew you liked him, but I thought it was just a phase. You didn't tell me any of that. If you had, it might have changed everything. It would have changed everything. We would have spared all this pain."

Brooke sighed, "I know. Trust me, I wanted to tell you, but it was like my little secret. A place where I visited when I would get depressed. I tried to tell him to break it off with you so that he wasn't two-timing you, but he cared about you as well."

Haley sighed, "Listen Brooke, I don't want to be fighting with you. Obviously, Lucas isn't the friend that I thought he was because he has said some pretty rotten stuff. I need time to think about all of this. Right now, I just want to drop it. I don't know if I can go back to trusting you like before."

Brooked smiled, "That's all I can ask. I want you to know that I am still here for you." She turned around to look at Haley, "You gotta admit, At least one good thing came out of all of this."

"What?" Haley asked, quizzically.

"Well, you and Nathan are finally together!" Brookes aid, as she bounded out of the room.

Haley looked at herself in the mirror again and fought the urge to hit her head against it.

oooooooo

"So you coming to my game?"

Nathan was lying on Haley's bed, throwing a stuffed bear in the air and catching it. Haley was typing her paper up on her computer. Strangely, it wasn't odd having Nathan in her room. It was normal.

Haley looked up from her paper, jumping up to snatch her bear out of Nathan's hands. "Don't do that to Mr. Cuddles! He will get sick."

Nathan shot her an incredulous look, "You have to be joking."

Haley frowned. "I can assure you that I am certainly not joking."

Nathan smiled at her serious face. "Okay, okay. But back to my original question, are you going to come to the game tomorrow night?"

Haley chewed on her lip, staring at the screen. She had always gone to all the games, but cheering for Lucas now. Wait, she is supposed to be moving on!

"Okay" She agreed, rather reluctantly.

Nathan smirked. He knew she was going to say yes. "Also, Tim is throwing a party after. What say we make an appearance?"

Haley began to vehemently shake her head. "No way. I don't do parties."

"C'mon Hales, it will be fun!" Nathan cajoled.

Haley sighed, she knew that in the end she would end up going because Nathan would pull some slick line and she would feel compelled to go, so cut the entire chase.

"Fine."

oooooooo

The gym was packed by the time she got there. Which is the way she liked it. Haley liked big crowds because they were the easiest to get lost in.

She spied Mouth sitting on the bleachers, near the rest of the basketball team, so she decided to go join him. She liked Mouth; he was a quirky guy but a really sweet one too.

"Hey Mouth!" Haley said, sitting down next to him. He was saying something into a microphone for

He quickly clicked it off, "Hey Hales!"

"What's up?" Haley asked, trying to find Nathan and Lucas among the basketball players running around.

"Not much, really." Mouth said, "Um…I'm sorry to hear about you and Lucas." He said, fidgeting around.

Haley looked at his in surprise. "Yeah, it's okay I guess. Life screws you over sometimes and you just have to deal with it."

Mouth nodded. "Oh well, Lucas' loss right?"

Haley gave him a genuine grin and hugged him. "Yeah."

"So…" Mouth began, "What is up with you and Nathan."

Haley looked out at the players. Nathan spotted her, giving her a grin and a wink. She grinned back at him. "Exactly what it seems." She said evasively.

"Okay," Mouth didn't have time to decipher her comment because the game started right then. He flipped on his recorder, "Welcome Tree Hill to the Tree Hill Ravens versus Pickerington Morons!"

Haley elbowed him in the ribs and laughed.

oooooooo

Haley was getting into the game. She was screaming along with the rest of the crowd. It was a really close game, both sides winning many times during the duration of the game.

As the final buzzer sounded, everyone in the auditorium (at least, on the Ravens side) let out a simultaneous 'whoosh' of relief and started cheering like crazy. She saw Peyton motioning her from the sidelines and tried to make her way over, while trying to maneuver through the crowd that was now pouring down onto the court.

She finally got to Peyton, all disheveled, "Hey."

Peyton ruffled Haley's hair even more, "Listen, you going to Tim's party?"

"Yeah," Haley turned around, looking for Nathan, "Nathan is going to give me a ride over.

"You wearing…that?" Peyton asked, looking down at Haley's sweater and jeans.

Haley frowned, Peyton usually wasn't into fashion thing, and so it was really odd. "Yeah…why?"

Before Peyton could answer, Haley was swept off her feet and twirled around. Haley giggled as Nathan gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

"We won!" He exuberantly announced the obvious. "Listen, I gotta shower. Are you going to hang around here? Or what do you want to do?"

"Pick her up from my house." Peyton firmly said, grabbing Haley's arm, before she could protest.

Nathan smirked, "Going to make her look sexy? Too late."

Peyton and Nathan laughed, as Haley blushed and pouted. "I'm right here!"

"Yeah yeah." Peyton dismissed, "Listen, just pick her up from my house in 45 minutes kay?"

Nathan sighed, "45 minutes you say. Is that girl time?"

"No, real time. Now hurry up and say goodbye Haley. I'm going to go find Jake." Peyton scurried off, disappearing quickly into the crowd.

Haley smiled, "I swear, they need to get together. They are so cute!"

Nathan hugged her, noticing that Lucas was looking their way, with Brooke trying to catch his attention. "So, seriously, you up for this party?"

Haley smiled, "Yeah. I am. Okay, I'm going to let you go, the sooner you shower, the quicker you can help me escape from Peyton's clutches."

Nathan laughed, letting go of her. "Okay, see you in 45 real minutes?"

Haley gave him a kiss on the cheek, knowing that Lucas was watching, "You betcha."

oooooooo

**A/N**– More drama in the next chapter! Thank you guys so much for the replies! I want to get this chapter out ASAP because I have to go pack!

**Kristen** (first of all, thank you for the praise :D) Yeah, my Lucas and Haley are different. I wanted to Lucas to come off a bit cockier but still confused. He is a very confused soul on the show, which is evident. But I think he doesn't realize the consequences of his actions. Haley is also naïve, but she is confused because she felt that she could have trusted Lucas. But Haley is also the type of person to not hold a grudge and try to find the best in everyone.

**HalesnLukeBFF4ever**– Thank you for your comment :D My muse for Shattered Piece is currently taking a vacation in the Bahamas. Hopefully I will have something by next week!

**was-an-angel** – Interesting has only begun! Thanks for replying!

**onetrueself**– Glad you find it funny. That is my goal, but like I said, I have an odd sense of humor!

**Bre** – Totally agree with Nathan and Haley being the best. I sure hope they end up together on the show now!

**Mia** – Glad you liked the quote! I gacked it from somewhere, sadly I can't remember where :X

Okay, I hope you guys have a GREAT New Years and see you all in 2005!

3, Tina


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4**

"Peyton, my bathing suit has more material than this entire outfit."

Peyton grinned, looking into the mirror at Haley reflection. She had curled Haley's hair, similar to her own style. She added a bright red halter-top, a black mini tennis skirt and flat flip-flops and voila! Peyton was smiling at her own creativity for creating outfits. Maybe she could go into the move and be a wardrobe organizer.

Unfortunately, Haley didn't feel the same way. She insisted on complaining loudly. But Peyton stuck to her guns. She had seen Haley face when Haley looked into the mirror to see herself. She definitely saw approval.

"Haley, you are going to wear that. Complain all you want, but I'm not giving up." Peyton said, as she pulled a leather jacket over her tube top.

Haley opened her mouth to argue again, but she was beaten by another voice. "HALEY? PETYON? ARE YOU GUYS UP THERE?"

Peyton exhaled a noisy breath, "NICE TO KNOW THAT PEOPLE STILL USE THE DOORBELL" She shouted back. Haley winced at the volume of her voice.

A few moments passed and suddenly the bell chimes filled the house. A minute later, Nathan appeared in front of Peyton's room smirking.

"Better?"

"Much." Peyton said, half-annoyed and half-amused.

"So where is Haley?" Nathan asked, moving Haley's overnight bag and plopping down on the computer chair. He had opted for casual. A striped polo shirt and jeans had completed his casual look.

"She is in the bathroom." Peyton sighed, "She looks totally hot and won't come out."

"Damn right." Came Haley's answer.

Nathan smirked, "Hales, darling, just come out. Everyone will be drunk and I'm sure there will always be another cheerleader who will look much trashier than you."

Haley peeked her head out, "No way."

Peyton saw her chance. As soon as Haley had peeked out, she grabbed Haley's arm, causing Haley to stumble into the room. Nathan straightened up immediately, seeing her outfit.

He was momentarily stunned. She looked gorgeous, and the best thing was that she didn't know it. It made her innocence shine and literally took his breath away. Suddenly, his overprotective mode kicked in.

"She can't go out like that! The guys will be all over her. And it will be worse when they are drunk!" Nathan said, looking at Haley to Peyton.

Haley felt a little offended, but also touched. Nathan cared enough about her well being, and obviously thought she looked good. But she didn't need a protector.

Peyton sighed again. "No, she looks hot, and as long as you are nearby, no one will even dare to go near her."

Nathan felt his phone vibrate against his leg. He looked down at the caller ID: DIM TIM.

"Fine, let's go, Tim has already called 5 times in the last 10 minutes." Nathan said, standing up.

Peyton smiled at her victory and flounced down the stairs. As Haley was getting ready to go down the stairs, Nathan stopped her, putting his hand on her waist to steady her. He leaned into her, whispering in her ear.

"You do look hot."

Twenty minutes later, the trio finally entered the house. The ride should have only taken 10 minutes, but Nathan insisted on dropping Peyton off at the corner. If she got out of the car with Nathan and Haley, she 1) would look like a loser. Who comes with other people's dates? And 2) Give people very interesting ideas. After dropping her off at the corner, he had to follow her to Tim's house, and then had to park.

"You do realize that she could have just waited a couple seconds and then gotten out of the car?" Haley informed him, amused at the antics.

Nathan glared, concentrating on parking his car. The house was jam packed, as usual, and naturally, everyone just had to drive.

"This is why our environment is being ruined." Nathan rambled, getting agitated because there was no space to park his car. "The whole in the ozone layer is going to gap open tonight because of all these cars." He grumbled as he got went around the block for the nth time.

Haley giggled at him. He looked adorable, trying not to smash into another car in order to create space for his. "Sweets, first of all, there really aren't that many cars here that are running. As long as they are not turned on, it's fine. Second, the ozone hole is somewhere up South America. A far cry from Tree Hill."

Nathan half smiled at her, before slamming his hand against the steering wheel. "That's it. I'm parking here."

Haley paused, "Nathan, it's in front of Tim's house. The reason people didn't park here is so that there was at least some space for people to get into the house."

Nathan got out of the car and opened Haley's door for her. "Tough luck."

Haley noted Nathan's chivalrous move, but didn't dwell on it too much. This was her first popular party that she was going to. She had enough reason to be nervous. She was accepted as girlfriend of Lucas Scott, friend of Peyton and Brooke Sawyer, acquaintance of Nathan Scott.

Now she was entering as ex-girlfriend of Lucas Scott and current girlfriend of Nathan Scott. When it came to the Scott brothers, anything and everything was complicated. But after spending time with both of the brothers, Haley came to the realization that the only thing that they shared was the same father. Nothing else.

Nathan could sense Haley's hesitation and he put an arm around her waist, drawing her closer to him. "Don't worry. Just have fun tonight. And create waves of jealousy."

Haley tried to give him a smile, which came out as a grimace. Following him up the stairs to the front door, she was sure that it was going to be an interesting night.

Too bad she didn't realize how interesting.

As she and Nathan walked in, the first thing she noticed was the loud music and the intoxicate state of many of her fellow peers. Nathan had one hand on the small of her back and was gently pushing her to go through. Lucky for them (or not), the first person they saw was Tim, under the influence of quite a bit of alcohol.

"Duuudddeee…" Tim drawled. He paused and looked confused, "I though you were bringing that tutor chick. Wouldn't she get mad if she saw you hanging with another hotter chick?"

Nathan smirked, putting his arm around Haley, "Tim. This is Haley, Haley, Dim."

Tim's mouth dropped as he started at a smirking Haley, "Duuude, you are so hot!" He leered, coming closer to Haley.

Nathan put his arm out, effectively cutting off Tim as his bumped into it. Given Tim's intoxicated state, Tim stumbled back, almost falling.

Haley giggled. Drunken people were interesting, and Tim was an excellent drunkard. She smiled kindly at him, "See you around Tim." With that, she grabbed Nathan's hand and led him away.

"Just chill." She said, noticing his tense shoulders. Haley put her arms around his neck, pressing closer to him. Maybe it was his jealous nature, or just the atmosphere, but she felt energized tonight.

Nathan automatically wrapped his arms around her. "Yeah, I guess. It's only Tim. Plus, babe, you better remember, you are with me tonight." He said smirking.

Haley wrinkled her nose and let go of him. "You just so did not call me Babe…"

Before Nathan could say anything, they heard a female voice calling out to them. "Nathan! Haley!"

Following the direction of the voice, Nathan and Haley found themselves in front of the bar with Peyton and Jake.

"Hey, amazing to actually find you." Peyton grinned. "I have to hand it to Tim, it's a good party. Food, drinks, DJ and a dance floor." She pointed to a makeshift dance floor.

"Nice." Nathan said, not very enthused. He looked at the drink selection. "What do you want Haley?"

"Coke, please." Haley said, trying to look for Lucas and Brooke without making it seem too obvious.

"One coke with vodka, coming right up." Peyton said, as she started to make the drink.

"No." Haley said, turning her attention back to Peyton. "Just a coke. Please?"

Nathan put his arm around Haley; "I shall be the designated driver tonight. You have fun. After all, this is going to your night."

Peyton handed her the drink. "Don't worry, I didn't put too much alcohol in it. You will need like 10 glasses to even getting properly tweaked."

Haley took a sip of the drink. Definitely could taste the vodka, but maybe her friends were right. She did need to loosen up. "Okay. Fine."

An hour later, and two glasses of coke and vodka, Haley was still feeling fine. She was talking with Peyton and Jake about colleges.

"I honestly would love to either go to Duke or UNC. UNC has given me a scholarship, but Duke, wow, it's Duke!" Haley exclaimed.

"True," Jake said, "But UNC is also a pretty good school and since they are giving you money, it's looking good." He was going to UNC as well.

"Okay you would talk about colleges at a party." Nathan came up behind Haley, smirking down at her.

The four of them laughed, knowing that it was the truth. Haley was incredibly content. For the first time, she had great friend and she was happy.

"Let's go," Nathan tugged Haley's hand, "I wanna dance."

Haley paused, as Jake and Peyton ran up ahead, starting to dance. "Um, I don't dance."

Just then, a slow song came on. Haley gasped as she recognized it as 'Dare you to move'. "I love this song!" She squealed, forgetting the fact that she still couldn't dance.

"Let's take it easy then." Nathan said, putting his arms on her waist and pulling her closer, forcing her to put her arms around his neck.

Just then, she spotted Luke and Brooke dancing a few feet away from them. Haley noticed how as soon as Brooke saw Haley and Nathan dancing, she pulled Lucas closer. Lucas was totally oblivious to what was happening around him.

Nathan noticed the other couple as well. He pulled Haley closer to him, as he whisphered into her ear, "Just follow along."

Haley gave a slight nod of her held and she snuggled closer to Nathan, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. The alcohol definitely loosened her up and she was willing to along with whatever Nathan had planned for her.

Brooke was looking at them distastefully while Lucas finally noticed them. Lucas tensed up a little, staring at Haley and Nathan. Well, more like Nathan, because Haley had her eyes closed, totally relaxed in his embrace.

'And go for the kill.' Nathan thought, as he tilted Haley's chin up. "Just trust me." He whispered, hoping that the next move wouldn't kill his friendship with her.

Haley only had a chance to give him a quizzical look before his lips descended down onto hers. She had only kissed Lucas before, but the kiss Nathan was giving her was totally not like the ones Lucas gave her. First of all, they weren't sloppy.

She felt herself start to warm up, as she stood on her tiptoes to get better access. His tongue swept across her lip and she opened her mouth to let it in. At this point, Haley could have sworn she saw and heard fireworks. She pressed herself closer to Nathan and both of them moaned softly.

As oxygen was becoming an issue, they reluctantly pulled apart. Haley gazed into Nathan's eyes, totally forgetting about Lucas, Brooke and everything else. Nathan wasn't any better, his concentration solely on Haley.

All of the sudden, realization swept across her face, as she realized what he had done. She sneaked a look at Lucas and Brooke who were still dancing with each other, but visibly shocked. She looked back at Nathan, who could already sense her pulling back from him, physically and emotionally.

"Did you see that?" Jake asked, watching the two couples from a distance.

"Whoa…" Peyton said, watching Haley pull back from Nathan and staring intently into his face.

"You sure this whole thing is acting?" Jake asked, at this point 100 positive that it was an entire sham and that Nathan and Haley were truly in love with each other.

Peyton nodded, speechless. Just thing, she saw a fleeting expression on Haley's expression. "Uh-oh…here comes the regret."

Jake and Peyton watched Haley give Nathan a kiss on the cheek. Peyton knew it was just for show because Haley didn't want it to look like she wasn't used to Nathan kissing her. Watching Haley dart towards the stairs, she squeezed Jake's hand and followed Haley up the stairs.

Haley splashed cold water onto her flushed face. But in her state of mind, the temperature of the water didn't register in her mind. She looked at her flushed reflection in the mirror. Faintly, she was glad that Peyton had used waterproof makeup. Then she mentally slapped herself. She splashed some more water on her face, hoping to bring her mind back to working order so she could analyze what had just happened.

Someone rapped on the door, "Haley?" Peyton's clear voice permeated through Haley's foggy brain. Haley opened the door, staring at her friend's sympathetic face.

"What did I do?" Haley began rambling, "I can't do that. I liked it. Why did you breakup with him? He is a fantastic kisser. I would have kept him around just for that. But that's not the point, the point is that I kissed him and liked it. I don't think he was too repulsed either. Oh damn, what a mistake I …." She stopped rambling because Peyton grabbed her shoulders.

"Breathe." Peyton instructed Haley, as Haley took in deep noisy breaths. "Okay, first you need to go find Nathan, because he is confused. Just as badly as you. Talk it out. I mean, did you honestly think that you guys would not get physically involved if you are pretending to date?"

Haley paused. In all honestly, it didn't occur to her. Peyton noticed that and rolled her eyes at Haley. "Oh dear, okay, well, just go talk to him." With that, Peyton went back to the party.

Haley closed the door and looked back at herself in the mirror. She attempted to fix her hair. Nathan had pulled a few of the curls when his fingers were in her hair. She smiled, remembered how the kiss had been. In her 17 years, she had never experienced those feelings. The fluttery butterflies, the need to get him closer, the want and desire. It scared her because she knew that she couldn't screw anything up.

Haley took a deep breath and patted her hair one more time. She might as well face him. She opened the door; only to have someone hit her forehand.

"Ouch!" She winced, covering her forehead with her hands while stepping back.

"Hales!" Nathan said, alarmed, "Oh god, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hit you! I passed Peyton and she told me you were in here. I was only knocking…"

He trailed off as he noticed Haley silently shaking. Suddenly, he heard her snort and she burst out into laughter. Nathan noticed how she sparkled but forced his mind to concentrate on the task at hand.

"Oh wow, you see these things happen in cartoons, I didn't know that it happened in real life!" Haley said, giggling.

Nathan chuckled, stepping into the bathroom. He kicked the door with his foot and sat on the edge of the bathtub. Still giggling, Haley sat on top of the toilet (lid mind you!)

"So…." Haley said, her giggling stopped, leading to an awkward silence.

Nathan sat quietly, trying to figure out what to say in words. Giving up on trying to come up with any semblance of a conversation, he decided to improvise.

"The kiss downstairs, I just want you to know that the only reason I sprung it because it was the perfect time. Both Lucas and Brooke were looking, and trust me, I saw their faces and it definitely looked shocked. If you want to convince him that you guys are over, then you have to understand that we might have to kiss." Nathan said, trying to be as frank as he could.

Haley felt a twinge of something she couldn't figure. Pushing it aside, she took Nathan's hand.

"I understand. Sorry I freaked, it was just so sudden." She said, "I guess it was a lot of the alcohol too."

They both laughed, feeling the familiar sense of camaraderie come back. Silence enveloped them once again, but this time it was a comfortable one.

Nathan stood up, dropping Haley's hands. "Yeah, so um, let's blow this bathroom. Wanna go somewhere else? I think I'm all partied out."

Haley stood up as well, raising her eyebrow, "Partied out? Nathan Scott? Whoa, who are you?" She joked, linking her arm through his.

Nathan laughed and looked pensive. Haley noticed this and asked him, "What's wrong?"

"Well…that was a damn good kiss." Nathan smirked, watching Haley turn pink.

"Nathan!" She squealed, swatting his arm. She darted out of the bathroom until she was reached the top of the stairs. She turned back around and gave him a seductive look. "You're right. It was." She laughed and walked down the stairs.

Nathan hurried to catch up with her, laughing silently. Yes. This plan was the best ever. Even better than the time he stole the bus and drove the basketball team. Or the time that he had to sucker punch to get the keys out of the Pickerington's car.

Standing on the bottom of the stairs was Peyton and Jake, looking up at them expectantly. Peyton felt a little relived to see a smiling Nathan and Haley.

"Wanna go somewhere else?" Peyton asked, getting sick of the party atmosphere. As soon as Nathan and Haley disappeared, Brooke had cornered Peyton complaining loudly about Haley. Brooke was Peyton's best friend but Peyton also was very close to Nathan and Haley. Brooke had given no indication that she was with Lucas, even before he and Haley broke up.

"Yeah." Nathan agreed, slipping his arm around Haley. It was a familiar feeling that neither of them complained about.

"My house?" Peyton asked, "After all, Haley is sleeping over. We can watch a movie or something."

As the four teenagers left, Brooke watched them with her eyes slit. She knew that she was seen as the bad person in this mess but she was just of a victim as Haley. Brooke sighed, taking a sip of her drink. She knew that Haley and Nathan were just pretending to be a couple. Lucas didn't seemed bothered at first, but it was starting to get to him. Brooke turned around, going back to her boyfriend, hoping that he could just let go of Haley.

* * *

**A/N** - Hey guys, remember me:-D Okay, so my muse finally came back from vacation and I got slightly motivated, so I have started chapter 6. I didn't realize that Chapter 5 had not been posted on FF, so here it is! Hopefully, I well get you guys chapter 6 by the end of this week. Thank you all for the lovely reviwes!

3 Tina


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hey everyone! Remember this story? I was hit with the worst writers block ever. I had everything planned out and written up a plot and everything! But they, I lost it and along with that, I lost my muse. But, it came back the other day, so I managed to get something out. It's not too eventful, but I promise (I hope!) that it gets better!

**Chapter 6**

It was a rainy Thursday night and Haley was attempting to finish up her English report. It wasn't due for another week, but she had a packed schedule of tutoring next week, not to mention it was the first night that week that Nathan wasn't hanging out at her house.

After the whole kissing episode, they were able to establish a plateau on where they both were comfortable. Nathan and Haley had fit into the pseudo-relationship very easily. Tree Hill being a small town, it was hard for Haley to avoid Lucas and Brooke, especially since she worked at Karen's Café and Nathan and Lucas played basketball together.

The strange thing was that Nathan almost had replaced Lucas in Haley's life in more ways than one. Ever since she was younger, it had always been Lucas and Haley against the rest of the world. They had been the best of friends and unfortunately, the dating part screwed up their friendship. But Haley still cared for Lucas, it wasn't something she could close her heart too. Yet, at the same time, Nathan had helped fill in the void of a missing best friend.

"So, I say we do something out of the norm tomorrow. No parties after the basketball game, how about going to the all ages club in Durham?" Nathan asked, breaking Haley away from her thoughts.

Haley gasped and swirled around in her computer chair. Nathan, freshly showered and in his sweats, was lounging on her bed. It looked really funny, seeing big macho Nathan in the midst of all the teddy bears.

"When did you get here?" Haley asked, saving her work. There was no way she would finish anything up with Nathan here.

It was a routine for the two of them. For the past couple days, Nathan would come over after basketball practice and dinner. Sometimes they would do homework, being in the same classes, and sometimes they would sit and just chat.

"Just a few minutes ago." Nathan said, tossing one of Haley's stuffed animals (Not Mr. Cuddles!) in the air and catching it. "You seemed busy with your English homework, well, more like just staring at the computer screen."

"Yeah," Haley said, "Just thinking of a few things." Before Nathan could ask what she was thinking of, she continued, "What are you talking about tomorrow?"

"Well, there is this all ages club in Durham, as I already mentioned," Nathan said smirking at Haley's annoyed face, "And my cousin is going to be performing and she asked if I wanted to come see her, so I decided to see if you wanted to come along. You like singing."

Haley chewed on her lip. She didn't mind these hanging out sessions, but going out on a Friday night with a guy pretending to be her boyfriend, hit a bit close to being a date.

"I was also going to ask Peyton and Jake to come along, because Peyton is relatively good friends with Zin." Nathan said, not noticing Haley release a sigh of relief.

"Wait…" Haley furrowed her forehead, "Zin"

"Zinnia Aurum Scott." Nathan said, barely containing his laughter.

"Are you serious?" Haley looked at Nathan with pure disbelief.

"Yeah, yeah" Nathan chuckled, "Her dad and my dad are like first or so cousins. But her parents are cool; they were into the whole hippie era and all. But she is totally different, into brand name clothes, etc."

Haley giggled, "Okay, that's not bad at all! I don't mind going along, when do you think we will get back?"

"Well, the game will be over by 9, but the time we leave it will be 9:30, it takes about 15 minutes to get to the club, she performs at 10, we should be back home around 11 to 12." Nathan said, thinking out the whole night.

"Thank you Mr. Organizer" Haley joked, "Looks like my wonderful organizing skills have rubbed off onto you!"

"Too bad my basketball skills haven't rubbed off onto you!"

Haley shrieked and attacked Nathan with her pillows. Eventually, the room was thick with flying pillows and stuffed animals.

ooooooo

"Zin, Zin." Peyton said, smiling. She was waiting for Haley to grab her stuff so that they could head home. "She is a great girl, but wow, is she ever astute. It's scary."

"What do you mean?" Haley asked, putting her books into her backpack. She was balancing the backpack on her leg and shoving books into it as fast as she could.

"She is the only person I know who can catch Nathan's bluff's. She is amazingly perceptive. Betcha anything that she can tell that you and Nathan aren't dating just by looking at you guys." Peyton said, slamming Haley's locker door for her as Haley hoisted her backpack onto her bag.

"Oh boy." Haley sighed, "Oh well, we don't have to keep up the pretenses in Durham, no one knows - Oof!"

Peyton grabbed Haley's arm to prevent her from falling over. They both turned around to face the feminine gasp that followed.

"Oh Haley! I am so sorry!" Brooke said, her eyes flashing, but her voice sugary. "Are you okay?" Lucas was standing next to her, looking like he was ready to just bolt.

Haley looked at the two of them. She had been trying to avoid the couple. Except for lunch, she rarely saw them.

"I'm fine." Haley said curtly. Peyton was staring at Brooke, trying to decipher what her next move would be.

"Hi…Haley." Lucas said quietly, "You look nice." He trailed off, scuffling his shoe on the tile floor.

"Hi Luke," Haley said, instantly regretting it because Lucas' face lit up at the mention of his nickname, "Thank you."

Brooke glared at Lucas, and turned around and glared at Haley. "Where is Nathan? Are you guys going to be coming to the party tonight?"

"He has an appointment." Haley said, dying to get out of there. Peyton sensed her agitation, and promptly tugged Haley's arm.

"Lucas, Brooke, we will see you soon, we gotta run." Peyton said, practically dragging Haley out the door.

The two girls collapsed against the door. Haley was trying to keep her laughter in, while Peyton made no attempts to stop her giggles.

"That was worse than Bonnie and Clyde being ambushed by bullets!"

ooooooo

"So, what did you think of your Scott Stud?" Nathan asked, looking down at Haley. The game had just ended, with the Ravens winning by a landslide.

"Funny." Haley chortled, "I didn't realize that I had one of those."

Nathan leaned down to give her a sloppy kiss, his sweaty hair grazing her face. Haley squealed and pulled back. "Are you going to be waiting here?"

"Yeah," Haley said, wiping her face, "Peyton will be out in a few minutes, so we will wait for you and Jake. Now go! You need to be ready in a half hour, remember Mr. PP?"

"PP?" Nathan repeated, with a bemused expression.

"Palm Pilot, now go!" Haley said, smacking his butt and pushing him towards the locker room doors.

Nathan blew her a kiss as he disappeared into the locker room. Haley sighed and followed the crowd out into the lobby. It was so easy to fall into a close banter with Nathan. It just came natural at being with Nathan that she didn't even think about it. She knew that she had to keep up a façade in front of everyone, but it was strange that she didn't even think of it anymore.

She agreed that it was working. Lucas had tried to start getting Haley to talk to him again and she would make small talk but nothing more. At the same time, she didn't want to mess up what she had with Nathan by making it more complicated.

"I know what you are up to."

Haley exhaled noisily. Two Brooke encounters in 1 day was too much for her. She knew that it was just her luck. When she finally thought she got rid of Brooke, destiny just slapped her in the face.

"What re you talking about?" Haley asked Brooke, facing her.

"Nathan. You don't love him, you are stringing him along, so that you can make Lucas jealous." Brooke said, quietly, but enunciating each word.

"Well, maybe you are jealous because Lucas still cares about me." Haley said, her anger starting to boil. "You know, spreading your legs open will only work for a little bit, eventually you are going to have to talk and then he will figure out the real you."

"You little bitch." Brooke seethed; she took a step closer to Haley. "Let me tell you something, it's not my fault. If you had been even a decent girlfriend, then Lucas wouldn't be looking around at other girls now would he?"

Haley paled slightly. Brooke had a point, was it really her fault? No, that didn't justify what Lucas did, but still, it planted a seed of doubt in her mind.

"You really have to stop this habit of dangling boys, Haley dear." Brooke said, her voice turning back to a sugary sweet tone. "You dangled Lucas and now you are doing the same thing with Nathan. It's not a good habit to get into. Just think about it."

Brooke gave Haley a last look and turned on her heels and left. Haley barely noticed, as the words of Brooke swirled in her head. What if Brooke was right? Was there something defective about her? It wasn't all Lucas' fault; she had a tiny bit to do with it. She wasn't attentive enough, she knew that but she also thought that they saw each other enough. In school and usually at least a half hour each night, and she thought that was enough. Apparently not.

Nathan. Haley's heart hurt. Brooke was right, she was using Nathan, and Nathan was just being a good friend to her. What kind of person was she? Was it worse because she actually liked pretending to be with Nathan? Suddenly, Haley felt like those drama girls on MTV's Real World. Life wasn't supposed to get this complicated.

The locker room door opened and Peyton breezed out. She noticed Haley, staring out into the middle of nowhere. "Hey Haley, have you been waiting for long?"

Haley turned around to face Peyton. She blinked quickly so erase the tears from her eyes. She gave Peyton a wan smile, "Not really, I have to run to the bathroom really quickly, be back!" With that, she quickly walked towards the bathroom door.

Peyton frowned, staring at Haley's retreating back. Something was up with her; she looked so confused and lost. Peyton looked down at her watch, 20 after. Tapping her foot, she stared at all the trophy's that were encased in the glass cases. If Tree Hill was proud of one thing, it was their basketball team.

Peyton turned around, as the locker room door opened. Nathan and Jake emerged with their duffel bags, looking freshly scrubbed and energetic. Jake smiled at Peyton, who's stomach immediately filled with butterflies.

"Hey," He said, stopping in front of her, "Been waiting long?"

"Nah, just a few minutes." Peyton said, smiling at him.

"Where's Hales?" Nathan asked, looking around, as if expecting her to pop out any moment.

"She is in the bathroom." Peyton frowned, "She looked kinda upset, do you now why?"

Jake and Nathan both frowned, "No clue…" Nathan trailed off, as the locker room door opened again. Haley walked out, looking totally normal.

"Hey." Nathan said, giving her a hug. "You okay?"

Haley smiled, even though she could feel her heart breaking. He was such a sweet guy. What was she doing? "Yeah, ready to go guys?"

"Sure." Nathan smiled, looping a hand around her waist. "We are going to take my car, Peyton, did you drive? Cause I can bring you back after."

"Nah," Peyton said, following Nathan and Haley, "Haley's mommy dropped us off."

"Cool." Nathan said, popping open the trunk so that Peyton, Jake and himself could put their bags in.

"So guys, here comes the most important decision that we will have all night long… what are we going to be listening to on the way down? Sorry Nate, but I can't deal with you rap. Pey, your angry music is too angry for me. Jake, I like your pick of songs because they are the same as mine!" Haley bounced, putting on her cheerful face. She just wanted to have some fun tonight.

"Actually Haley, why don't you sing a bit? You have a beautiful voice." Jake suggested, as Nathan pulled out of the parking lot.

"Where did you hear her sing?" Nathan asked, as he pulled out onto the main road.

"Karen's Café, open night, right Jake?" Haley said, knowing that it was that night. She had only sung in public once.

"Yup!" Jake said, "And you have an amazing voice. Sing a bit please?"

"Nah," Haley said, trying to worm herself out of this one. She never liked singing in public, too judgmental. She liked having music to herself, uncriticized. It made it more special.

"Come on Haley!" Peyton said, "I didn't know you sang."

"Yeah baby, please?" Nathan said, giving her puppy eyes while driving to keep his eyes on the road.

"Nathan!" Haley giggled, pushing his cheek away so that his eyes were back on the road.

"Guy's, no really. Not tonight, I promise you though, I will someday."

Nathan let out a dramatic sigh, "Fine. I suppose it's Kanye West then." And he hit his CD button.

The groans of protest were drowned out by the loud rap music.

ooooooo

A/N: Well, I have started chapter 7. Originally, there was more to this chapter, but then I would end up with an epic chapter and I think this is a good place to have an end. I have a few reports due in the next couple of days, so I should be done with chapter 7 by the end of this week. Once again, I hope you guys enjoyed it!


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N**– Hi guys! Remember me D Yes, this is really chapter 7. I started it like a month ago and finally finished it today! Thanks for all the feedback, it makes me feel so warm inside D. I'm glad that readers are enjoying this story, I'm horrible at updates, but I promise, now that school is ending, I will probably have more time to update!

**Dedication**– To all the lovely readers who take the time to read it D I really appreciate the comments and I just wanted to say thank you!

**Chapter7 – Walk a Lonely Road**

No sooner had the four teenagers stepped into the club; a tall girl threw herself at Nathan.

"Latey Natey! You aren't late! What a surprise! How are you doing cousin dear?" The girl, also known as Zinnia, shrieked into Nathan's ear.

"Zin," Nathan said, giving her a hug and wincing, "Inside voices please."

Zinnia paid no attention to him as she grabbed Peyton and gave her a big hug. "P. Saw, how are you doing!"

"Hey Z!" Peyton said, giggling as she gave the girl a big hug. She could feel the energy radiating from Zinnia.

Haley and Jake just stood back. Haley was amazed at the energetic nature of the girl. Zinnia was pretty tall, a few inches shorter than Nathan. She had long flowing black hair, which was currently pulled back from her face. Her green eyes were simply sparkling, obviously from the anticipation of playing tonight.

Zinnia turned around and faced Haley, "So! You must be Haley!" Without a warning, she grabbed Haley and squeezed her. Haley started to laugh, but it soon died done as she realized that Zinnia was cutting off her oxygen supply.

Noticing Haley's predicament, Nathan gently tugged her arm until Zinnia got the hint and let go of Haley.

"I see, I see," Zinnia said, smirking. "Don't like people honing in on your possessions. Do you have her marked?"

Nathan gave her an annoyed look, as Haley blushed. Peyton butted in before Zinnia could make any more of comments. "Zin, this is another friend of ours, Jake Jagelski, he is also on the team with Nathan."

Zinnia grabbed his had and enthusiastically pumped it, "Nice to meet you! Wow, you are a cutie, you interested?" She winked, knowing that it would just tick Peyton off (and hopefully get Peyton to ask Jake to dance!)

"It doesn't matter if he is interested or not, you are already taken darling" A voice said, from behind Zin. In a matter of a second, a tall boy popped out from behind her.

"Yes, by this wonderful hunk of a stud named Adam!" Zin squealed, hugging him around the middle.

Haley's head started to hurt from all the energy. She knew that Jake was feeling the same way, noticing how he was rubbing his temples slightly.

"Pey, Nate, good to see you guys again. Looks like you guys have branched out." Adam said, smirking.

"What, can I say, change is good." Nathan said, bumping hands with Adam. He winced when Haley elbowed him in the ribs and Peyton pinched his side. "Ouch. Just joking girls."

Adam turned to Jake, "Hey Man, you look familiar. Did you play a set at Karen's Café before?"

"Yeah." Jake nodded, "A few months ago."

"Awesome, good stuff." Adam turned and looked back at Haley. "That's why you looked familiar, you performed that night too, didn't you?"

"Yeah." Haley nodded; not realizing how many people was actually there that night.

Nathan was getting annoyed, everyone but him had seemed to hear Haley.

"Smashing voice, it was like an angel!" Adam said, "You need to hear her sing. Maybe you can form a duet." He said to Zinnia

"Oh! I would love to hear you sing!" Zinnia said, looking down at her watch, "But I gotta run, I'm on in a few minutes. Make sure you guys get front row seats!" She gave Adam a kiss and zipped off.

The gang stood for about a few seconds, marveling at Zinnia's energy. Nathan turned around to look at Jake and Haley.

"She has always been like that, don't worry about it." Nathan said, laughing at their stunned reaction. Peyton giggled along agreeing.

"Come on," Peyton said, tugging Jake's arm, "Let's get something to drink and grab a table."

Nathan grabbed Haley's hand and the couple followed Peyton and Jake. Haley felt disconnected from everyone else. Brooke's words were still echoing through her head and she couldn't shake the bad feeling. She felt herself forcing herself to smile and interact normally, but truthfully, Brooke's words hurt more than they should have.

"Haley, spring or coke?" Nathan's voice wafted over her. She jerked out of her thoughts, giving him a quizzical look. Nathan shot her back an equally confused look, while Peyton and Jake patiently waited for her answer.

"Oh, um…sprite please." Haley absentmindedly answered. She looked at Peyton and titled her head towards the bathroom. Lucky for Haley, Peyton had already picked up on Haley's demeanor.

"Hey boys, why don't you get our drinks and grab our drinks. Haley and I got to prettify ourselves." Peyton said, linking her arms with Haley's and pulling her.

"Not that it will take much." Jake winked at Peyton, who blushed. Nathan guffawed while Haley gave the first genuine smile of the night.

"Hurry back, Zin will be up in like 10 minutes. C'mon Jake" Nathan said, already heading towards the 'bar'.

"Okay, what's up?" Peyton asked, as soon as the girls stepped foot into the bathroom.

"I don't know." Haley answered truthfully, plopping down on the couch. Peyton followed her lead, neither of them paying attention to the fact that there was a couch in the bathroom in the first place.

"Is it Nathan?" Peyton gently asked.

"No…yes…Oh Peyton!" Haley cried out, nearly in tears of despair. "I don't know what to do! Only a week ago, we were still friends, and now he wants something and I don't know if I can give it to him."

Peyton silently sat there, rubbing Haley's back. She knew that Haley just needed to get everything out of her system.

"He cares about me, just as much as I do to him. But he is deceiving himself into something else. When I asked him to be my psuedo-boyfriend, I only asked because I knew that he would make Lucas jealous. I can't give him my heart Peyton. Because I know that I will care for Nathan more than he will for me and then he will shatter it again. And…and I can't go through it again." By now, Haley had tears literally pouring down her face. Her tears slowly dropped down her cheeks and plopped one by one on her jeans.

Peyton thought for a moment before speaking. "Do you believe in soul mates?"

Haley looked up, "I used to. But now, I don't know if I believe in love."

Peyton shook her head, "Don't be that pessimistic Haley. I've seen what you and Nathan have. It might not be love yet, but that is only because you are holding back. Give it up. I know Nathan, and I know how he feels. What he is feeling now is a new feeling. Give him a chance."

"No. I can't. Because if he doesn't hurt me, I will hurt him. I don't think I'm good at this whole dating thing. I mean, obviously, I wasn't a good enough girlfriend for my best friend. The person who knew me the best in the world. How can I be good enough for someone who doesn't know me?" Haley pondered, twisting her fingers.

"Stop." Peyton said, jumping up. "Haley, I love you, but I'm going to be very frank. Lucas behaved very badly, and so did Brooke. I'm disappointed in both of them. But that doesn't mean that everyone is like that. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. You didn't do anything wrong. You are not at fault for Lucas' cheating."

"That's not what Brooke thinks." Haley muttered, standing up to wash her face.

"She is going to say whatever to make herself feel better. Ignore it. Listen to me, Haley." Peyton grabbed Haley by the shoulders and turned her around. "Give Nathan a chance. Give love a chance. You can't block yourself off. This may have started out as a stupid little prank, but don't let it end that way."

Haley nodded, "I'll try."

"There you girls are, we thought you fell into the toilet." Nathan said, as Peyton and Haley came back.

"Hah." Peyton stuck her tongue out at Nathan, who stuck his tongue out at her. Haley patted Nathan on the shoulder as she sat down next to him.

"Oh, no. We were just girl talkin' it." Haley answered lightly, trying to act normal. She had a feeling that Nathan was starting to suspect that something was up.

Just then, a scruffy looking boy stepped up on the stage, "Okay guys. Shut up. We are ready to start!"

Peyton scoffed, "Yes, that will definitely get me to come back to this club."

"Shhhh." Nathan, Haley and Jake admonished just as Zinnia stepped up on stage. Haley watched her set up her guitar and take her seat. For a second, Haley felt a pang of jealousy. She wished that she were as brave as Zinnia to be able to sit up on stage and perform.

Zinnia adjusted her mike, "Okay guys, thanks for coming out tonight. This song is very special to me because I turned to it a few years ago when I was facing some dark times, but now its all good." She smiled down at Adam, who grinned back at her.

"Aww!" Peyton and Haley cooed, as Nathan and Jake rolled their eyes good-naturedly.

_I know there's a reason you're forcing a smile  
You hide what you're feeling and you have for a while  
I can tell that you're falling  
And you feel that you can't go on  
But a new day is calling  
And you'll see that the feeling is gone_

_You know you're not the only one  
Who has a lot to overcome  
And when the time has come then you move on  
'Cause you've been crying for too long  
Sometimes life is so unkind  
But change is never a waste of time_

_I know how you're feeling, I've been there before  
The hurting is something much to strong to ignore  
Don't be waiting for someone  
Who can take all your fear away  
When there's no one to listen  
That is when you should not be afraid_

_Alanis Morisette – (Change is) Never a Waste of Time_

Haley felt a pang in her heart. Zinnia's soulful voice and the combined words just made her realize how much Lucas really hurt her. She really felt that Zinnia had directed the words to her.

"Wow. She was really good." Jake shouted, over the deafening applause. Peyton nodded, whistling.

"She is really good." Nathan grinned, cheering along with Haley.

"Can we go speak to her again?" Haley asked, eager to get to talk to the girl and see if she was really that soulful.

Nathan nodded, grabbing her hand and leading her through the crowd. All of the sudden, he stopped and bent down and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks for coming. It means a lot to me." He said, giving her a small smile.

Haley smiled, despite her turmoil, "Of course. She is amazing."

Nathan nodded, pulling Haley towards Zinnia. Zinnia immediately spotted them and jumped off of her stool and ran over to them.

"So! How did you guys like it?" Zinnia asked eagerly.

"It was okay. I've heard better." Nathan smirked. Zinnia's mouth dropped and she punched him in the shoulder. Nathan winced and then swung his arm around her shoulders. "Just kidding Zee."

"That was honestly beautiful." Haley said, "I wish I had your courage to go up on stage and be able to perform."

Zinnia smiled, "Thanks. But I don't think its courage. I think it is more like love for music which is what gets me up there."

Nathan noticed Peyton waving over to them and indicating the time. "Hey Zin, we have to go. Early morning practice tomorrow." He picked her up in a bear hug. "Great job Zee, talk to you later kay?"

"Naturally. Thanks for coming Nate." Zinnia said, hugging him back.

Haley stepped back a bit, feeling like an intruder. She was surprised at this side of Nathan. He truly cared for his cousin, and the emotions were palpable.

Nathan let go of Zinnia and put his arm around Haley's waist. "C'mon."

"Wait Nate." Zinnia said, "Can I talk to Haley for a few moments?"

Nathan gave her a strange look. He looked at Haley and saw that she didn't mind. "Sure, but hurry up." He gave Haley another kiss on the cheek and left.

"Are you sure it's a farce?" Zinnia asked, watching Haley watch Nathan leave.

Haley looked back at her startled. Zinnia chuckled, "Don't worry, Peyton told me. But I would have never guessed."

Haley sighed, "That's what everyone says. And that's what scares me. I don't think I can give him what he wants."

"Too late." Zinnia grinned, "He already has what he wants. I know my cousin very well and I haven't seen him this happy in a long time. Even when he was with Peyton, he was always reserved."

Haley sighed, "So I've heard. I'm just confused."

Zinnia gave her a hug. "It's okay to be confused. But don't wallow in your confusion for very long. You don't want to confuse confusion with decision."

Haley nodded. "It was nice meeting you. I better go, before Nathan storms back in here and thinks I ran away."

Both girls laughed. "Yeah, Nate isn't exactly the epitome of patience. IT was nice meeting you." She handed Haley a piece of paper. "If you ever need to talk, just holler."

"Thanks." Haley smiled, hugging her new friend. Zinnia hugged and they parted.

As Haley walked back to the car, she was so confused. Everyone was positive that she and Nathan were perfect but there was something in her heart that was holding her back. She knew she had feelings for Nathan but they were different than those she had for Lucas. Haley couldn't decipher if they were good or bad.

As soon as she stepped out of the club, Nathan swung around to the front of the entrance. "Finally! I was about to come in but Peyton stopped be."

Haley laughed, "Zin and I were just talking about music. She really is great. Probably the only Scott I like." She teased.

"Thanks you looooove the other one!" Peyton giggled.

Haley froze as well as Nathan. Peyton immediately caught on to the fact that she made a mistake and shut her mouth.

Jake, noticing the tense situation, tried to add some humor. "Are you sure it's not Dan?"

"Ewwwww!" Nathan and Haley simultaneously said, making a face. The four of the laughed, as the tension lessened a bit.

Jake and Nathan started to talk about basketball as Haley got a text on her phone.

_I'm so sorry.  
__I was so not thinking,  
__It was me being blonde.  
__I love you! – Peyton_

Haley smiled down and texted back:

_Don't worry! You not thinking?  
Wow, that's new :p Luv ya too!_

Haley could hear Peyton gave a sigh of relief but the fear returned to Haley again. Love. The dreaded four letter word. Haley had great parents who loved her very much. Her brothers and sister loved her as well as her friends. But that was comfortable love. With Lucas, Haley thought she felt love, but apparently she was wrong.

The talk in the car slowly dwindled down. Peyton was leaning on Jake, barely awake. Jake was sleepily holding his head up, nodding off. Nathan had turned on the radio and some random love ballad was playing.

Nathan looked over at Haley, who was staring out the window pensively. There had been something off about her all evening. Like she was withdrawing into her shell. Nathan knew that shell, after all, he did that too. It scared him since Haley usually had her emotions on her sleeve. He reached over and took her hand, encasing it in his larger ones.

Haley looked down at their hands. People said that the ring finger on a person's hand lead to their heart. Nathan's ring finger next to Haley's looked a bit too intimate for her. She gave it a minuscule squeeze and pulled her hand back out. She felt Nathan give her a look but she stared straight out the window.

She couldn't deal with everything. Not now at least. Her feelings for Nathan were bordering love, she knew it. She also knew that she might have already fallen in love with him.

Nathan gave her a startled look, but Haley continued to stare out the window. He gave a small sigh and continued to drive. She was pulling back, and it was not a good thing.

I know this chapter seemed like a filler but the roller coaster is about to start. Trust me! Once again, drop comments, good or bad, I can handle it!Thanks for sticking by guys!

3 Tina


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